Joined: Nov '07
Location: Belgium
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 1289
How to choose a room As a beginning player Part 1
Well in many occasions players tend to choose a pokerroom for the wrong reasons. I want to clarify my own toughts on this one since I see alot of questions rising on different forums.
Before signing up on a specific room or network, U have to wonder or ask yourself a couple questions :
1. Wich games I play 2. Do I want a huge deposit bonus / no deposit Bonus or Rakeback? 3. Do u like big networks or either smaller rooms?
1. Games U play :
In my opinion and thats how I tend to choose a room is mainly what to play on a specific room. I have my roll divided for cashgames and MTTs. If U are a beginner you probably also will skip the Multitable cashgames / Sngs. A. your roll is probably is no big enough to do it B. You lose focus and concentration
My advice then is : stick to 1 or 2 tables as a beginner ( it sounds boring) and move up when U are able to.
Some rooms have better benefits when playing tournaments or Sngs then others this is mainly due to the overlay or the RAKE / Fees u pay when participating. I suggest new players to take a good look into this before signing up a room coz fees can kill ur small bankroll in the long run.
On low limits U find any sort of game or enough players to compete against.
Many people are looking very shortterm without seeing upcoming benefits.
Take a room where U get a no deposit bonus : this will in 9/10 cases EXCLUDE U from rakeback. Rakeback is a value in poker that cannot be misjudgded. its one of the most valuable things in online poker, wheter U are a small staker or highballer.
So If u have a spare $ left then I would suggest to skip a no deposit bonus and link your account ( for example here at bankrollmob) on rakeback. If you plan to stay at the pokerroom for a while it can be very valuable. I get thousands of $$ in return due to rakeback every month.
There are different networks with different kind of % in rakeback. choose wisely according to what U are looking for as a player.
If U want a shortterm benefit from a room I suggest a Kickbackbonus or huge deposit deal, but thats more for the average and advanced player that have built a bankroll already.
3.Big networks or smaller rooms?
Many players just sign up at the biggest rooms online. wich is not wrong, but there are alot of other trustworthy rooms out there. If u play on a big room the competition is also more fierced. I suggest U go to pokerscout and U find a whole list of all available rooms on all networks.
Before signing up, read some reviews or comments from players. Check their reputation and feedback.
NL, FL, PL
I see alot of people going automaticly to NL holdem.
Wich I think is a mistake by not trying the different types of games, for example :
NL : U can lose your stack with one hand. Fixed Limit : U can minimize your losses and stick to your top 20 premium hands.
Some rooms offer a wide variety from games and types
NL holdem to badugi Some rooms have more limit games that are suitable for a Limit player. wich in this case If u are a limit player, consider this as a +. Limit games and Pot Limit games also gives u more rakeback in the end so its not a bad choice of trying them or playing them.
Rate it , if U luv it I am happy to see ur comments. I wrote this out of my head at 4.30AM so I probably have to add alot more in this, but its a start. I also pasted this in my FAQ / hints & tips.
[ ] I don't want U to make more posts like this [ ] Sure I read it but don't really care what U do [ ] Its good and I want to see more articles about....
Rate it , if U luv it I am happy to see ur comments. I wrote this out of my head at 4.30AM so I probably have to add alot more in this, but its a start. I also pasted this in my FAQ / hints & tips.
[ ] I don't want U to make more posts like this [ ] Sure I read it but don't really care what U do [ X ] Its good and I want to see more articles about....
Liv ftw --------------------------------- I like these posts for different ideas you bring up, and voted above. You for writing this at 4:30 am it's a good post loaded with some good points. You brought up a good point about playing Fixed Limit with a small starting bankroll. I've noticed at the micros level you've got people playing some of the worst starting hands, out of position, outrageous betting patterns, calling to the river and sucking out to win (not all the time). But these beats can damage a bankroll and cause it to have some bad down swings at times. Sometimes, in order to take a step forward you definitely take a step back. So by playing fixed, I can see why the rakeback would be better and my buy in would not be harmed as much. I've seen some micros games with a player/flop ratio in the 60+% range with some higher avg pot amounts. So having some control over the betting would be nice. Plus it's good because it allows players to learn at the micros and be able to apply good card selection and using odds/etc. to play. Choosing tables is an important aspect of playing the game. Good post Flangel, thx
Joined: May '08
Location: Netherlands
Age: 53 (M)
Posts: 6197
[ ] I don't want U to make more posts like this [ ] Sure I read it but don't really care what U do [x] Its good and I want to see more articles about....
Offcourse, ur articles are great for beginner poker players, keep posting them, hopefully new players will use them as a guide to make some money
Joined: Oct '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 86
Hi flangel, you say that you make more rakeback from fixed limit? Interesting, I always thought NL would give more due to the bigger pots - if you're a beginner at low stakes are you going to see many raked pots in FL compared to NL?
Joined: Aug '09
Location: Chile
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 1353
[ ] I don't want U to make more posts like this [ ] Sure I read it but don't really care what U do [x] Its good and I want to see more articles about....
I think what you do is very useful. It would be nice if You could also add some tips about your experience in differents sites, so people who have to decide for one of them is able to do a better choice.
Joined: Oct '09
Location: Canada
Age: 33 (M)
Posts: 18
Not playing high stakes when your not having a good stack is always good to start. There are many reasons people move up to a higher limit game than they usually play. Good reasons like they've been winning consistently at a lower lever & are ready to move up, & bad reasons like the line is shorter for higher limits or you want to impress someone. Don't play at stakes that make you think about the actual money in terms of day-to-day life or with money you can't lose. Even if you had one super-good night at $2/4, resist the urge to play $5/10. The next tip explains more why. And pick the right of your skill level and bankroll. One of the reasons you shouldn't jump into a $5/10 game after winning a huge bunch of money at $2/4 is because as the stakes rise, so does the average skill level of the players sitting there. You want to be one of the best at the table, not the fish who sits down with sharks. If you're making stacks of money at a lower level game, why move? You're winning stacks of money. The swings up & down at higher limits are much bigger, and one big night's win won't last long at a high-stakes game. thanks for the post!
Joined: Aug '09
Location: United States
Age: 53 (M)
Posts: 122
Man, if you only knew... who posted this thread, that is. Anything you (oli277) post will be deemed credible. Feel like impressing an entire forum? Keep it up! Nice advice, too. L8R...
Nice advice, too. L8R... 
